During the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Coroner's Court proceedings at Shirehall in Shrewsbury, the familial link between driver and victim was unmentioned, with the man unnamed.

The coroner's office told the BBC after the hearing: "The driver was stated by police to be the father of the child."

The BBC understands the man is also named Stelios.

Image copyrightGoogle MapsImage caption
Passers-by alerted the driver to what happened, the court was told

In a statement from West Mercia Police collision investigator PC Nicholas Stafford, the inquest heard that a man, woman and three children got out of a Hyundai, unloaded goods and entered nearby Friends Fish and Chip Shop.

About five minutes later, the man returned to the car and got in through the driver's door.

The boy was then seen walking in "close proximity" to the front of the vehicle, and walked to its rear.

The court heard the driver reversed the car, knocking over the child before he was alerted to what happened by passers-by.

In his statement, PC Stafford said the boy was wearing a dark-coloured top and was 91cm (36in) tall, "below the view afforded to the driver in the driver's seat".

The incident was captured on the garage's CCTV cameras and coroner John Ellery said there were "several eyewitnesses".

He recorded that the boy died as a result of a road traffic collision.

The boy's family was not present at the hearing and Mr Ellery said it was their wish the hearing proceeded on a documentary basis.